(Missouri Independent) – A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people. If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers, farmworker workers; those […]
The Livingston County Commission will meet with a representative of Congressman Sam Graves next week. Local issues will be discussed with Mitchell Rice at the courthouse in Chillicothe on September 7th at 11 a.m. The agenda includes an executive session at 10 o’clock that morning for employee and/or personnel matters.
(Missouri Independent) – Calls from tenants seeking emergency rental assistance are escalating in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that blocked a national eviction moratorium. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has 60 application processors working to distribute hundreds of millions in federal aid and has been fielding about 500 calls and responding to […]
A bill that went into effect over the weekend makes the first reforms to Missouri’s HIV criminalization laws since they were passed in the 1980s. Among other measures related to prosecutors and police, the bill requires prosecutors to prove someone knowingly exposed someone who contracted HIV before getting a felony conviction and reduces the minimum sentence […]
(Missouri Independent) -The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Biden administration’s last-ditch effort to extend a federal ban on evictions has put hundreds of thousands of American renters at risk of losing their housing — and is increasing pressure on states and localities to get rental assistance dollars distributed faster. In an eight-page majority opinion […]
Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) released the following statement after voting against S.Con.Res. 14, which paves the way for liberals to ram through their $3.5 trillion spending spree without any Republican support. “We’ve got a crisis in Afghanistan, a crisis at the border, an inflation crisis right here at home, and this bill does nothing to […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the Conservation Reserve Program in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a 20-state coalition led by West Virginia and Arizona in arguing against the Biden administration’s proposed regulation of firearm parts. In addition to joining the coalition’s comment letter, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a separate, but similar, comment letter. The coalition’s comment letter can be found at this […]
(Missouri Independent) – Monday marks the first day of school for thousands of students across Missouri and it’s also when schools can begin enrolling in a new federally-funded testing program aimed at helping facilitate a safe return to the classroom. The Department of Health and Senior Services announced Friday evening that Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc., a […]
A Missouri attorney has pleaded guilty in federal court to tax and labor violations. Meagan M. Howe, also known as Meagan M. Hasty, 35, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Thursday, Aug. 19, to one count of failure to pay employment tax and one count of making a […]
City Administrator Ron Urton reports Trenton has submitted to the state of Missouri an application and funding request to receive money from the American Recovery Act. Urton Tuesday evening told the Trenton Municipal Utilities Committee that it would be several weeks before funds are received, perhaps in two disbursements. Urton said Trenton could receive a […]
(Missouri Independent) – At the base of the bridge in Selma, Ala., where the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia almost died while marching for civil rights, congressional Democrats announced Tuesday the introduction of legislation that aims to protect voting rights across the country. Rep. Terri Sewell, an Alabama Democrat, unveiled what will be […]
Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) joined Republican colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee today in pressing the Biden administration for a plan on Afghanistan. In the letter, the members wrote, “For months, we have been asking you for a plan on your withdrawal from Afghanistan. You failed to provide us with one, and based on the […]
As the United States evacuates citizens and allies from Afghanistan following a Taliban takeover, members of Missouri’s Congressional delegation are speaking out. “Fourth District Republican Representative Vicky Hartzler called the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan “bungled” and said in a statement “gone and lost are decades of progress for women, who will now see […]
In light of the massive surge of illegal border crossings reported last week, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), joined by Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting critical information on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s record of apprehensions during the Biden Administration. Interior […]
A new report finds Missouri lags behind many other states in voting access. The Campaign Legal Center graded states on whether they have 10 key voting practices, from no-excuse absentee voting to online tracking of mail-in ballots and ballot drop boxes. Missouri received a score of four out of 10. Denise Lieberman, director of the […]
Governor Mike Parson announced an official total of 495,296 MO VIP entries for the first drawing, which will take place today. The MO VIP incentivizes vaccination for those who have not yet been vaccinated, as well as provides an opportunity for rewards for the more than 3 million Missourians who have already made the decision […]
The former general manager of the hospital dining facility at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing more than $69,000 from the cash registers. Gregory Arthur Norton, 53, of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of theft of public money. Norton was […]
(Missouri Independent) – Legislative leaders of both parties said Tuesday that a special session is likely not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis and […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce 15 amendments to the Democrats’ newly-proposed $3.5 trillion budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022. Senator Hawley’s amendments would allow for the hiring of 100,000 new police officers, restrict federal funding for K-12 schools that refuse to fully reopen, fight back against critical race theory, and protect the […]
